Tuesday, April 05, 2016

Who Are the Remaining Uninsured?

Among Americans under age 65, nearly 33 million still lacked health insurance in 2015 despite the Affordable Care Act. Greater outreach efforts could cover 12 million of the uninsured, says the Urban Institute—those who are eligible for Medicaid/Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and those whose incomes are low enough to qualify for generous tax credits when they purchase Marketplace plans. It will be much harder to reach the remaining 21 million uninsured because they are ineligible (undocumented immigrants), live in states that did not expand Medicaid, or are unwilling to pay the cost of coverage. Here is the status of the 33 million nonelderly uninsured...

Difficult or impossible to reach these uninsured
5,233,000 (15.9%) not eligible for subsidies because they are undocumented immigrants
4,109,000 (12.5%) not eligible for subsidies because income is above threshold
3,799,000 (11.5%) not eligible for Medicaid/CHIP because state did not expand Medicaid
3,740,000 (11.4%) not eligible for tax credits because employer offers health insurance plan
3,708,000 (11.3%) eligible for tax credits; income is above 201% of poverty level

The study examines which efforts will be most effective in reaching the 12 million likely to enroll in Medicaid or Marketplace plans.

ABOUT ME

Demographer and editorial director of New Strategist Press, Cheryl Russell is the former editor-in-chief of American Demographics magazine and The Boomer Report. She has written numerous books about demographic trends. Ms. Russell is a professional demographer with a master's degree from Cornell University.